The spirit of the Geneseo Soccer Club, an assemblage of women who truly love the game of soccer, embodies the "if there's a will, there's a way" mentality. These passionate women have found a way to make soccer part of their everyday lives here at Geneseo.
The Geneseo Soccer Club was founded six years ago by Matt Dunn, a former Geneseo student. The club got its start as a very small organization and didn't blossom until a couple years ago. The club is not officially recognized by Geneseo's athletics program due to a dispute related to the possession of talented players. Several women who previously played on the College team decided that while they did want to play competitively, they did not want to make the large commitment of playing on the varsity team. As a result, they chose the club team. As of now, there are no plans for the club to become officially recognized.
This year the club has its largest team on record, 26 players featuring nine seniors. Senior Sean Coffey, who is assisted by Geneseo alumnus Adam Gager, coaches the team. This year's captains are seniors Katie Clark and Diana Hemm and junior Amanda Flannery. The team practices six days a week at Armory Field on Avon Road.
Weekends are game time: the team squares off against other area colleges such as Cornell, Syracuse, Ithaca and the University of Rochester. Part of the appeal for the club's players is that practice isn't mandatory. There is no pressure to attend if conflicts arise.
Ultimately, club soccer is founded on a pure love of playing the game. The club is dedicated to practicing daily and competes against other colleges, though unlike Geneseo's varsity team, they receive no support from the school. The execution and organization of all events is student-generated - including their volunteer coaches, Coffey and Gager.
Sophomore Sara Hauschild said of Coffey and Gager, "They aren't paid to coach us, but they love doing it." That is demonstrative of both the players' and the coaches' dedication to the sport purely for its enjoyment. This spirit underlies the mission statement of the organization: to continue to spread both the team's prevalence and that of soccer around the Geneseo campus.
"I'd say our biggest goal is to promote the team and keep its popularity increasing," Coffey said. "In that respect, this year is already a great success."